Good-Bye, Green
by Legions of Navi
Summary: Green suffers a fatal wound and is soon to die. A short story about his final moments with Red, Blue, Vio, and Shadow. (rated T for language, mild blood, and character death, no pairings)
1. Denial

**Author Note: Impulse fanfiction... so I apologize if it's crap. This was originally going to be a one-shot, but it got a bit long and I decided to make it into five chapters - Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. Bonus points if you guess which Link represents which chapter/stage of grief.**

**Disclaimer: Nintendo owns the Legend of Zelda and all its characters.**

Green had never really thought about dying. He preferred not to think about depressing subjects, and often had no time to. He did know, however, that when he did die, he wanted it to be quick.

And of course, that wasn't how he was going to go out.

It hadn't even been for a hugely worthy cause. He wasn't defeating Vaati or rescuing Princess Zelda. Vio had heard of a small town being terrorized by Darknuts, and the four Links had decided to go stop them. Shadow had stayed behind, since he was in an oddly mopey mood.

The Darknuts were no match for the four Links' skill and teamwork. They had stayed together, laying waste to the armored enemies, until Green spotted out of the corner of his eye a Darknut making its escape. Confident that he could easily take it out, he broke away from his red, blue, and purple counterparts and chased it down.

It hadn't taken the Darknut long to find out that Green was hot on its tail. Seeing no point in running away from someone faster than it, it had turned and faced him. Green was just about to lunge at it when he heard a sharp call from Blue.

"Green, watch out!"

He turned reflexively, only to be impaled by a second Darknut. Shock initially numbed the pain, and, to his embarrassment, Green found himself surprised by red liquid staining his tunic.

Blue had been the first one over to him, teeth clenched as he stabbed the offending Darknut repeatedly in the back. Red sent a stream of fire from his fire rod at the other enemies, while Vio managed to somehow catch Green before he hit the ground.

After that, he couldn't seem to remember anything. It could have been a sort of dream, but he thought he could recall Red's tears running down his face as he held Green's hand, Vio's gentle fingers working to bandage the deep wound, Blue's fire-filled eyes as he finished off the remaining Darknuts, and Shadow's stunned face when the three uninjured Links came back home bearing his limp body. After that, there was darkness.

He awoke due to a dull yet overpowering pain in his stomach. At first he wasn't sure if he was awake at all, since he seemed to be in a dark place, but he gradually became aware of soft, steady breathing next to his bedside.

Forcing his eyes to open, he found himself in his bed in his room. The curtains were drawn and the room was dark. Next to him was Vio, fast asleep in a chair, a book open on his lap. The entire house was quiet, except for soft voices down the hall. One of them seemed to be crying.

"It's okay." The other voice whispered, cracking slightly. Green realized with a start that it was Red. He had never heard the cheerful, innocent Link sound so mature, so hopeless.

"No, it's not!" The other, slightly louder voice almost snarled through sobs. "If I had just looked over and warned him earlier, he wouldn't be lying on that bed bleeding to death!"

_Who on earth could that be? _Green closed his eyes again, blood loss making it hard for him to focus and recognize the voice. _It's not Vio, because Vio's asleep right here, and it's not Red, because Red just spoke. I don't think it's Shadow, because Shadow's voice isn't that deep… oh Farore. Is it Blue? Oh, please don't let it be Blue. Blue doesn't cry._

"That's easy for you to say." A third voice interrupted sullenly. "At least you were actually there. So shut up."

"Guys, please don't fight." Red's timid voice spoke up again.

Green wanted to speak up. He needed to speak up. To tell them he was awake, he was alright. He opened his mouth to speak, only to find the words wouldn't come out. The loudest he could manage was a small whimper.

Luckily for him, Vio was a light sleeper, and even the smallest noise startled him awake. He sat up in the darkness, the book sliding off his lap with a thump. Green winced at the noise. He tried to make himself say Vio's name, but the word wouldn't come.

"Green. You awake?" Vio's calm voice reached his ears.

Green managed the tiniest of nods. _Why is it so dark in here?_

"I made it dark in here so you could sleep, and the light wouldn't hurt your eyes." The purple Link unintentionally answered his question.

"Thanks." Green heard himself say. Damn, why was it that he could only speak when he wasn't trying to?

Vio cleared his throat. "Um, Green… I should probably tell you now… you're…"

"Going to die." He was slightly more in control of what he said now. Vio winced slightly before nodding.

"I sewed up the cut, but it was too deep. You're bleeding internally, and I'm afraid all the potions in the world won't help."

Farore, did he have to be so calm about it? "Do the others know?"

"I didn't tell them yet, but they drew their own conclusions."

Green had one final question. "How long do I have left to live?"

"Not long. Less than a day, I think."

He pondered this for a moment, not replying. What could he say to that?

"Green." Vio's voice snapped him out of his thoughts once again, and he turned his attention to his lavender-clad counterpart. He hesitated before continuing. "What's going to happen to us now?"

"What do you mean, what's going to happen?" Green snorted softly. "You guys are gonna keep living."

"How?" Vio sounded a little lost. "You're our leader. We can't just… keep living without you. You're a part of us."

"C'mon, Vio. You're all tough. You can keep going. Hyrule needs you. They can do without me."

The two of them were startled by a low voice from the doorway. "Maybe Hyrule doesn't, but _we_ need you."

Green could barely make out a bright red tunic as the speaker came in quietly, leaving the door open behind him to reveal Blue and Shadow, both with puffy eyes. Vio stayed quiet as Red shuffled his feet.

"If you die, Green, there's no point for us to keep going."

"Bull." Green shook his head. "You've got each other."

"But we need _you!_" It really was a miracle Red hadn't dissolved into tears yet. In fact, it seemed he was holding up better than Blue, from what Green had heard earlier. "Without you, part of us is gone, and we wouldn't be whole anymore…"

"…C'mere, you." Green held out a hand, and Red stumbled over to him, collapsing on his knees by the bedside and grabbing his hand. A strangled sob escaped his throat and he buried his head in Green's shoulder as he spoke.

"You're stronger than you think, Red. You might think you won't be able to get along without me, but you can. You'll be okay."

"I don't want to be okay! You can't die! I don't want you to!" Red mumbled into Green's shoulder.

"I don't want to die either." Green smiled sadly, lowering his voice so just Red could hear. "But you gotta keep going. They need you. Imagine if I was gone, and you weren't there. Blue and Vio and Shadow would get all angsty, and we can't have that happening, can we? You keep on smiling, Red."


	2. Anger

**Author Note: Annnnnd the next chapter, Anger. Of course, this is Blue's chapter. If you thought that anger would be represented by anyone other than Blue, then... well, I don't know what to say to you. Anyway, this chapter might be kind of cheesy, but I really have no concept of what's cheesy.**

**Disclaimer: Nintendo owns the Legend of Zelda and all its respective characters.**

Blue hadn't gone with Red and Shadow into Green's room. He lingered in the doorway, grateful for the darkness that hid his bloodshot eyes and the tearstains on his face.

"Blue," Green called to him as Red stood up and went to sit by Vio. "Can you… come here?" His voice was strangely raspy.

"…No." Blue turned with every intention to leave.

"For Nayru's sake, Blue, he's dying!" Vio snapped. "Get your goddess-damned blue self in here."

The hot-tempered Link whirled on his heel, instinctively glaring at Vio for telling him what to do, but quickly calmed himself, re-entering the room to stand by Green's bed. He crossed his arms.

"What do you want?"

Green blinked a few times. Blue's voice had cracked slightly.

"I thought you'd be glad, Blue." His mouth spoke without his permission once again. "You always wanted to be the leader… the spot's all yours now."

Everybody was used to Blue reacting violently to the most innocent sentence, but they weren't prepared for his response.

"Like hell I'm taking it!" He shrieked, turning his wrath upon the nearest thing – Vio, sitting on his chair next to Green's bed. Shoving his purple counterpart off the innocent seat, Blue grabbed it and slammed it against the wall. The ancient chair was no match for the Link's outburst of passion and broke under the force, but not before leaving a sizable crack in the wall.

The smash of the chair echoed through the room. Eyes wide with shock, Green sat up, ignoring his wound, as Blue hurled the remnants of the chair across the room. Vio curled up on the floor, protecting his head, and Shadow backed up several paces with Red using him as a human shield.

"Is that seriously all you think of?" Blue demanded, glaring at Green. "Damn it, the leader's spot is yours!" He whirled on Vio, who was just uncurling from his ball on the floor, brushing splinters from his hair. "And you…"

"What did I do?" Vio demanded, scrambling to his feet.

"You're the smart one, why can't you save him?"

"There's nothing anyone could do!" The purple Link defended himself, but Blue's attention quickly skipped from him to Shadow.

"You, Shadow… Why didn't you go? 'Cause you were here moping! Maybe if you were there, you could have helped! Is this some kind of plot? Was getting Green killed your master plan to take us all out? We were stupid to trust a shadow like you!"

"As if I didn't feel bad enough already." Shadow hissed back, taking an aggressive step forward. "At least I was the one who helped Vio try to save his life! What did you do?"

"Blue, Shadow…" Red whimpered from behind Shadow. "Please don't fight."

"Shut the hell up!" Blue rounded savagely on him.

"Blue!" Green yelled from his bed, propping himself up with his arms. "It's no one's fault but mine. There's no use in blaming everyone."

"Blaming everyone but myself?" The Link snorted, his chest heaving as he turned away from Shadow and Red. "I know, I know… I should have warned you faster."

Green's arms gave way, and he was forced to lie back down. "It's not your fault either, Blue. It was stupid of me to go off after that Darknut alone. We're a team. All of us. And even if I'm gone, you guys need to keep working together."

Slowly, Blue knelt next to the head of Green's bed, chewing on his lip until it bled. "I dunno how we can… we're… you're… you're…" He didn't dare speak another word, afraid that he would break down if he opened his mouth again.

Green's lips curled into a small smile. "Hey, it's okay." He lowered his voice. "Blue, I need you to keep them together, protect them."

"I couldn't protect you." He pointed out sullenly.

"I already told you, it was my own fault. But you're the strongest of all of us. I'm asking this of you because I know I can trust you." Green's voice was steady and even. "Take care of them."

Blue bowed his head and covered his face with his hands. His shoulder shook oddly, and Green honestly couldn't figure out what he was doing until it occurred to him that he was crying.

"Can you?" Green asked gently. His only response was a single nod and two muttered words.

"'M sorry…"

Exhorting what remained of his former strength, Green sat up and leaned over to hug Blue tightly. He couldn't think of anything to say, but it was one of those times when words were not needed.


	3. Bargaining

**Author Note: Gah, this took forever, and I don't even like it. :-/ But whatever. Also, just because I like sharing my opinion, I'm going to give a sentence about my thoughts on Vio/Shadow. I don't get it. Vio actively tried to kill Shadow by smashing the Dark Mirror... and Shadow being Shadow, I don't think he could forgive Vio just like that. But whatever, people have their own opinions. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda. Also, Shadow may or may not be out of character.**

It would be a lie to say that Shadow never felt out of place. Sometimes he would watch his colorful counterparts laugh and joke around while recalling events from their quest to save Zelda from Ganon, Vaati, and Shadow himself, and it was during those times he never felt so alone.

It wasn't that they neglected him. In fact, they actually went out of their way to make him feel included, especially Green and Red. Contrary to popular belief, Vio and Shadow had a very tense relationship. Shadow had never really forgiven the purple Link for trying to smash the mirror, and Vio had never really forgiven himself.

Green, on the other hand… Green had actually accepted the fact his shadow was a living being the easiest. Red, being Red, had no problem with Shadow, but he always hung around Blue. Sometimes Shadow believed Green only hung around him because Vio always wanted to be left alone, but in truth Green saw him no differently than any of the other Links.

And Shadow just couldn't let him die. So, utilizing his shadow powers in the dark room, he melted into the darkness, but not fast enough. Green's eyes were still sharp, and he called his shadow out immediately.

"Shadow!"

The other three Links looked in their dark counterpart's direction. For a moment, Shadow considered leaving anyway, but couldn't bring himself to do it. He couldn't look as if he were abandoning Green in his final hour.

Reluctantly, he became solid once more, holding his head low and letting his bangs shield his eyes from the others.

"Where were you going?" Green asked, not in a threatening way. As a creature of the darkness, Shadow immediately felt the urge to lie, but overruled it.

"I was going back to the Dark Mirror." He replied, not offering any explanation.

"Why?" Blue demanded, having scrubbed away his tears. Shadow paused for a moment to figure out how to word it.

"The Dark Mirror has, uh, strange… powers, I guess? I was going to try something."

"Right now?" Red asked quietly. "Couldn't it wait?"

"No." The shadow scoffed. Green narrowed his eyes a bit.

"What were you going to try?" He asked carefully. Shadow had a temper to rival Blue's sometimes, but luckily their dark counterpart also had a better grip on himself.

"I was gonna see if I could trade myself in for your life, and I don't care if it sounds stupid and I don't care of it sounds clichéd!" Shadow added that last part mostly to the other Links in the room. He kicked the floor, wanting nothing more than to take refuge in the darkness.

Green fought the tide of pain that was washing through him, focusing solely on the lone black-clad boy half melting into the shadows.

"Why?" He asked incredulously. "Shadow, how could you? I'd never be able to live with myself if you did that."

"And I'm never going to be able to live with myself if you die!" Shadow snapped, just barely keeping his head. "I wasn't there to help y'all, so trying to trade my life for yours just evens it out. Besides, I killed already myself once for you guys, it's no big deal to do it again."

Green's thoughts traveled back to when Shadow had smashed the Dark Mirror, breaking Vaati's power but also destroying the source of his life. In a desperate attempt to atone for his sins, Vio had gathered up all of the shards of the mirror and pieced them together one by one. He had managed to bring Shadow back to live among them, although at only a fraction of his previous strength. If Shadow attempted to trade his life for Green's, he wouldn't have nearly enough energy to come back a second time, and not even the Dark Mirror's power could save him.

"Yes, it is." He countered. "You died once and only came back because Vio spent months piecing the Dark Mirror back together. If you die again, there's no hope."

"If I cared about me, I wouldn't have considered it." Shadow complained. "If only I had just-" He cut himself off, refusing to meet Green's hurt eyes as he melted back into the shadows.

The dark protected him. The dark kept him safe. He curled up in the shadows of the corner and let the darkness be a barrier between himself and his bright counterparts.

"_If only I had been there." _Shadow finished his thought, speaking only to his fellow shadows. They surrounded him, promising to never tell his deepest secrets to anyone else.

So he hid his face in his hands and cried in his world of darkness, away from the light.

_"__If only I had been there."_


End file.
